How not to play the opposition

Looking closely at the current socio-political and economic situation, it will be an understatement to say that the growth and image of the country have been greatly battered by the mismanagement of the pasts. It is not surprising to see the pervasive and alarming rate of insecurity, unemployment, corruption, infrastructural decay, political intolerance, moral decadence and other societal vices that have eaten deep into the system. Though, the present administration is battling tooth and nail to tackle the problems head-on, it will require the highest level of patriotism/commitments and contributions of all and sundry to make headway and positive impact. However, misplaced priority and irrational criticisms on the part of those that form the oppositions are major issues that are capable of throwing spanners on the wheel of progress. It will be very difficult (if not impossible) for any government to achieve much progress if the opposition adopts unpatriotic and inconsiderate tendencies in their desire to take over power.

In a democracy, the common priority of the opposition is to replace the people in government. Therefore, they employ different types of tactics and measures in the course of achieving their aim. Though, there is nothing wrong in forming opposition to government if this priority is reasonably, objectively and patriotically pursued; it becomes a problem and undesirable if dubious, criminal, unreasonable, wicked and unpatriotic tendencies are devised in their pursuits. In other climes, the people in opposition put the interest of the country and citizens foremost in their criticisms and other activities against the government. They constitute themselves as checks to forestall the ruling party from derailing in governance. They study the policies and programs of government and devise ways of improving on them and presenting same as manifestoes to swerve the electorates’ votes in their favour in subsequent or future elections.

In the Nigerian context, opposition is seen as an avenue to pull down the ruling government and take-over governance. The politicians are known for pursuing their selfish interest not minding the negative effects such actions will have on the country and the masses. Every steps and policies of government are condemned or made to look worthless and appalling in the eyes of the electorates just to justify their sentimental and selfish aim of pushing the rulers out of power and take over control. This trend is synonymous with our democracy and it has persisted since independence which explains the numerous military interventions in the country’s politics. The efforts put-in by all patriotic and well meaning Nigerians and the international community before democracy was eventually restored cannot be quantified. With the coming of the Fourth Republic, one would have expected that the people have learnt their lessons and handle things more naturedly by drastically curtailing, if not permanently eradicating the trend, but, reverse is the case as the situation is getting worse by the day.

The issue of oppositions’ misplaced priority is not an ideology of a particular party, ethnic group or religion; most politicians are guilty of this anti-democratic and progress-killing activity. In as much as this piece recognizes the fact that in politics, there are no permanent friends or foes but, permanent interest, our politicians have misconstrued this principle to mean personal and selfish ambitions/interests. As a result, the permanent interest of the people in opposition is to pull down the government in power at all cost not minding the damage or pains it will inflict on the innocent masses and the growth of the nation. The people in government also see the opposition as enemies of the nation who should not be trusted come rain or shine. The situation is so bad that even if it is obvious to the whole world that something is white, the opposition will always see that thing as red, blue, black, green or any other colour (but not white), so as not to be perceived as agreeing or giving credence to the policies and activities of government in power. In such situations, it will be difficult (if not impossible), for a nation to progress because mutual suspicion will pervade the polity.

When the issue of Boko Haram started, the government and opposition played politics to the gallery until it got out of hand to becoming a mountainous problem that has gulped billions of naira and wasted several innocent lives. If the issue had been handled with all sincerity and patriotic zeal (by all and sundry), those billions would have been used for developmental projects (if not transferred to private pockets) and most of those deaths, averted. No wonder, the whereabouts of the Chibok girls is still a mystery.

Today, a lot of sensitive issues are springing-up and our people are still handling it with levity and in the usual mannerisms. The ongoing anti-corruption war; secession agitation in the East; Soldiers/Shiites’ clash in Zaria; persistent fuel scarcity; election violence and alleged malpractices in Southern Ijaw; political imbroglio in Kogi and numerous others deserve unwavering commitments and co-operations of all well-meaning Nigerians to tackle. Expectedly, the masses continue to suffer endlessly and instead of the opposition to join hands with the present government to fight the problems and find lasting solutions, they are trading blames and accusations. Their relationship is still like that of cat and mouse.

It is obvious that the people do not seem to have learnt any lessons from the past and are gradually walking into another tight corner. We must not allow this to happen again for the sake of the nation’s survival. Consequently, the aim of this piece is to prick the conscience of those concerned and remind them that there is need to have a rethink and embrace national interests in place of misplaced priorities which have done us greater damages than good. All hands must be on deck to handle issues objectively and patriotically without fear or favour. There is no gainsaying the fact that the efforts of the present administration are gradually yielding results hence the need for all well-meaning Nigerians to come on board so that the dividends of democracy will be fully brought to bear on the lives of the masses.

The government on its part should also handle all issues with patriotic zeal and must not apply political sentiments. They must go to equity with clean hands. Criticisms and advice of the opposition should be perused to determine those that will be beneficial to the generality of the people. We should forget about political affiliations in this fight for total freedom from poverty and all societal vices. Interestingly, it is only names, symbols, ideologies and manifestoes of political parties that differ; the members are citizens of this country. Parties will come and go; governments will come and go; politicians and administrators will come and go; people will come and go; but, the country will remain. The country gained independence in 1960 (55 years ago), and we have less than 40% of our population in that age bracket today. Possibly, in another 50 – 60 years that generation would have been completely wiped off but, the country will remain. So, let us put in our best for the benefits our today and posterity.

Oise-Oghaede, a public policy commentator, writes from Surulere, Lagos.